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Wednesday, October 1, 2014

31 Days to a Peaceful Holiday Season: Intro & Calendar Review

Welcome to Almond Place! I've always loved this series from the Nester and while I was hesitating for a while, I'm ready to jump back on the bandwagon! Each day this month will feature a topic, an action item or a piece of inspiration to help you create a Peaceful holiday season regardless of which faith community you belong to. You can find ALL of the posts for this month HERE.

We all know how crazy November and December can get with all of the different obligations we have surrounding our various faiths' holidays. So I figured taking October to prepare would be helpful in making our holidays run smoothly and as stress-less as possible.

Each week I'll be highlighting a "to-do" list as well as giving you some gift, recipe, craft, and holiday tradition ideas. We'll also be talking about things like financial planning for this time, dealing with less than cooperative family members, and how we can truly serve others...no matter what set of holidays you might be celebrating.

We as a family have done better each year at keeping our lives as stress free during this time but I know there is always room for improvement and I hope that this series can be of some encouragement to you!

So I'm kicking today off with a pretty big task...sit down and figure out just how much you and your family are willing to take on. Pull out that master calendar and double check for sports, school concerts, parties, date nights, volunteer days, shopping days, days at home, vacations, travel dates, etc. We're looking for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING that needs to be put on or is already on the calendar.

Once you've found or decided on the things you're ready to commit to, you can start plugging things in....THEN you can start CROSSING STUFF OFF. For my family, we very intentionally choose to be together for the holidays. We have a few work and school obligations that must be met, but unless we are really excited about something, it gets crossed off the list. This can be hard at first because it often means telling people "Sorry, but NO."....I promise it gets easier as you figure out how to make your holiday season YOURS.

As a family, we try to limit our travel (meaning we don't travel!), we limit the number of parties we attend (only the ones we feel will really bring us JOY), and we like to be prepared for what's to come...meals are planned, shopping done ahead of time and the number of traditions we observe are also restricted...pinterest overload does no good for anyone! Don't get me wrong, there are still times where we are busier than I'd like to be and some stress can creep in...but this pre-planning goes a long way to keeping this Mama sane!

So take stock of what's coming up and start looking ahead so that November and December don't barrel over you with obligations! Come on back tomorrow and I'll explain my strategy for how I plan our budget.

I have some lovely friends who are also doing the Write 31 Days challenge. Check them out for other great inspiration!